


A New Life.

by AWriterOfThrones



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-25
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-18 05:33:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7301458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AWriterOfThrones/pseuds/AWriterOfThrones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[AU: Post "No One" 6X08] What would have happened if Arya never left Braavos after killing the Waif? What if Lady Crane had survived? When Arya Stark finally defeated her rival at the House of Black and White, her life took a turn that she did not quite expect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A New Life.

The play was going to start, Arya knew it. She could already hear the people gathering around the stage, talking to each other, wondering how the play was going to be like. Would the actors be good? Would it be entertaining? Those were the questions that everyone asked themselves before watching a play being presented to them. Perhaps she would have asked herself those very same questions too, had she not seen the play countless times already. There was a difference now, though. She was going to be a part of it. The girl closed her eyes and took a long breath. She had to calm herself down, or she would not perform correctly, as Lady Crane had taught her to do.

Lady Crane, the woman who had saved Arya's life at the most unexpected moment. She remembered everything that had happened to her in Braavos, everything that had led to her joining Lady Crane's troupe of actors. The memories would never fade away, no matter how much she tried to make them leave, that much was clear. And they were going to assault her mind now.

The pain of the knife piercing through her skin was unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was a million times worse. Her screams pierced the air, and she would have probably died there and then, if her desire to live wasn't so great. Arya managed to wiggle herself free from the Waif's killer embrace, and jumped out into the water without a second thought. During the fall, she remembered her family. Her father's loving smiles, her mother's advice, Sansa's attitude that always made Arya upset, Jon's brooding. Every single thing about her life at Winterfell came to her mind at that moment. They were the reason she still wanted to live, she had to return to them. The young Stark girl got out of the water, and walked through the streets of Braavos in slow steps, holding her stomach in an attempt to keep the blood from spilling. "Help." Arya repeated over and over again, but no one listened. No one cared. There was no one in Braavos who would help her now, they would just leave her to die.

Only after a few hours did it occur to her that there was someone who could help her. Lady Crane. The girl made her way to the place where she knew the older woman would be. At the stage, acting out her lines for the play. She somehow made her way to the backstage, and lay there, waiting for someone to find her. Fortunately for her, someone did, and it was Lady Crane. The woman looked horrified, and spared no time in taking Arya back to her home and nursing her back to health. But the little girl was scared. Not for her, but for Lady Crane. She knew that the Faceless Men still wanted to offer her life to the Many-Faced God, and she did not want to see the woman being killed. She expressed these fears to Lady Crane, but the actress shrugged it off, saying that everything would be alright.

She had been wrong. It wasn't long before the Waif appeared in Lady Crane's home, looking for Arya. The girl wasn't fully recovered yet, but she managed to escape the place in company of the actress, and led her to her small secret place where she kept Needle. The faceless assassin followed them there, wielding a knife which she planned using to murder both of the other females. However, the Waif underestimated Arya Stark, who blew off a candle, the only source of light, and used all the skills she had learned while blind to finish the Waif off. With that, both Arya's and Lady Crane's life were safe, she thought. The Faceless Men wouldn't be bothered to send more assassins if one had already failed. Or at least, that was what the Stark girl hoped.

Afterwards, she had stayed with Lady Crane in her home, and accompanied her each and every time she was going to present the play. The actress's performance was always brilliant, making everyone in the crowd shed a tear or two, and Arya always cheered and clapped for her friend, supporting her. She also spent lots of time backstage with the other actors, who had never forgotten the scene she had made when she accused Bianca of wanting Lady Crane dead. In spite of that, all of them accepted her as part of the troupe, and not much time passed before they finally convinced Arya to join them as one of the performers. She had been hesitant, at first. She had the duty to come back home, it was the reason why she had left the Faceless Men. But the girl had heard the news from Westeros. The war had ravaged the lands, and they were going through difficult times. More importantly, the North was controlled by the Boltons, and it seemed like the attempts to regain the control of the North that were leaded by Sansa and Jon had failed, and now, Jon was dead and Sansa was married to the Lord Bolton. Arya knew that, if she were to return, she would not survive for long. And besides, what was left for her there? The only family member of hers whom was still alive was being held by the worst person possible, and there was absolutely no way in which they would be able to get in contact again. Westeros was a part of Arya's past now, and she was not going to return to that place ever again.

"Are you okay, Mercy?" Lady Crane's sweet voice drew Arya away from her thoughts. "It's your turn to go out now."

"Yes, of course." The girl nodded and offered a shy smile to the woman, before starting to walk towards the stage. She was not Arya Stark anymore, she was Mercy. She couldn't risk anyone knowing who she truly was. She had left her old life behind. The moments at Winterfell, riding horses with her brothers, arguing with Sansa, were nothing but a memory now, and that was how they were going to stay. Now, she was a different girl, an actress, and she had a new group of people who would always protect her and be with her. There was no more being alone and afraid.

She had started a new life.

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, I'd like to thank you for reading my short story! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please leave a comment about it. Constructive criticism is always welcome!
> 
> Yours sincerely, AWriterOfThrones.


End file.
